UK conservation strategies

Our approach to conserving
biodiversity in the UK depends on partnerships between statutory,
voluntary, academic and business sectors, nationally and locally.
We aim to conserve biodiversity, for its own intrinsic value, for
the vital life-support services it provides, and because it
enriches people’s lives. From 1998 onwards, devolution has led to
the emergence of individual conservation strategies for the four
countries in the UK, underlining the importance of countries
abilities to set their own priorities. The UK strategic framework
is composed of the following conservation strategies: Working with
the grain of nature: a biodiversity strategy for England, Scotland’s
biodiversity: It’s in your hands,
Environment strategy for Wales, and
Northern Ireland Biodiversity Strategy. However the countries
still share the same conservation goals, purpose and guiding
principles described in Conserving Biodiversity –
The UK Approach (PDF, 316 kb).

The Surveillance Strategy, objective 1,
analyses surveillance in relation to three principles adapted
from UK biodiversity – The UK Approach:

To maintain, create, and restore functional combinations of
habitats that will provide ecosystem services and reduce the
vulnerability of isolated habitats and species populations

To make sites more robust to environmental change by improving
their quality and condition, reducing the impact of other pressures
in the surrounding areas, buffering and where appropriate making
them larger

To first halt the decline of species diversity, and then
maintain it, allowing for climate adaptation. This outcome is
delivered mainly by the first two principles and targeted
action.